Adjustable wrist support for bowling

ABSTRACT

A strap device for supporting the bowler&#39;&#39;s wrist in any desired angle to the back of his hand while bowling includes an elongated strip of flexible material strapped about both the bowler&#39;&#39;s hand and wrist on opposite sides of the wrist joint. A lever arrangement is provided for tightening the wrist strap in place. A resilient plate assembly is secured along the length of the strip for transversely bending the strap device at the wrist joint and over lapping ends of the plate are capable of being selectively clamped in place at any desired angle.

Unite tates tent 1 1 1111 3,29,090 Ensinger Aug. 13, 1974 ADJUSTABLEWRIST SUPPORT F OR BOWLING Primary Examiner-Anton O. Oechsle Attorney,Agent, or FirmWatson, Cole, Grindle &

[76] Inventor: William H. Ensinger, Rt. 1,

' Bombay, NY. 12914 Watson [22] Filed: Aug. 16, 1973 [57] ABSTRACT [211Appl 388778 A strap device for supporting the bowlers wrist in anydesired angle to the back of his hand while bowling [52] US. Cl. 273/54B, 2/161 A 123/87 R includes an elongated strip of flexible material[51] Int. Cl A63i) 71/14 ppe about both the bo lers hand and wrist on[58] Field f S a h 273/54 B, 189 A; 2/161 A; opposite sides of the wristjoint. A lever arrangement 128/87 R, 87 A, 87 C, 88 89 R is provided fortightening the wrist strap in place. A

resilient plate assembly is secured along the length of [56] R f n Cit d7 the strip for transversely bending the strap device at UNITED STATESPATENTS the wrist joint and over lapping ends of the plate are capableof being selectively clamped in place at any 1,643,850 9/1927 Jones128/88 2,269,065 1/1942 Roberts 128/87 R desred angle 3,235,258 2/1966Stroburg 273/54 B 4 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures 3,400,934 9/1968 Mueh]273/189 A PATENIEU AUG} 3 I974 sum 1 or 2 PATENIEU Aum 31574 SHEU 2 0F 2ADJUSTABLE WRIST SUPPORT FOR BOWLING This invention relates generally toan athletes wrist support, and more particularly to such a supportcapable of being tightened in place so as to maintain the back of thehand at any desired angle to the wrist while bowling.

Depending on the bowlers particular style and/or bowling condition ofthe alley, the bowling ball is grasped differently so as to alter therelease suitable for such particular conditions. For example, bowlingalley conditions can vary day-to-day from dry to slick. Under the formercondition, only a small amount of top spin or English is required tohook or curve the ball in its desired path. Under the latter or wetcondition, a greater amount of English is needed to effect the sameresults. In order to impart top spin to the bowling ball, the hand ispositioned under the ball and the wrist is rotated toward the body. Thewrist is therefore bent so the back of the hand is at an angle to thewrist with the wrist slightly rotated toward the body. Conversely, ifless top spin is required, the ball is grasped with the wrist bentslightly outwardly of the body. At times, it is also desirable tomaintain the wrist rigid without bending it either toward or away fromthe body.

In the prior art, wrist supports of the general type herein are known tohave a rigid stiffening member bridging the wrist joint and anchored toboth the hand and the wrist of the bowler on opposite sides of the wristjoint to maintain the back of the hand parallel to the wrist at alltimes while bowling. However, no provision has been heretofore made forsuch supports for rigidly maintaining the wrist in a position wherebythe back of the hand may be maintained in an adjusted and rigid positionbent either toward or away from the body.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide anadjustable wrist support for bowlers by means of which the wrist may berigidly supported at some desired angle to the back of the hand.

Another object of this invention is to provide such a support asincluding an elongated strip strapped toboth the hand and the wrist onopposite sides of the bowlers wrist joint, the wrist strap capable ofbeing quickly tightened in place, and the strip capable of being bentand locked into any desired bend suitable to the bowler.

A further object of the present invention is to provide such a supportwherein resilient plate means are mounted along the length of the strip,the plate having overlapping ends and a clamp being provided formaintaining such ends in any desired overlapping position to therebymaintain any desired bend of the strip for the bowler.

A still further object is to provide such a support wherein the free endof the wrist strap is interconnected by means of a cord to a pivotallever located on the strip which, when rotated away from such free end,serves to tighten the wrist strap in place.

Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention willbecome apparent from the following detailed description of the inventionwhen considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the wrist support strapped in placeon the wrist and hand of the bowler and illustrating at least twopositions in which the bowling ball may be grasped;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the wrist support in accordance with theinvention;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are sectional views of the wrist support takenrespectively along line 33 and 4--4 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 5 is an end view of the wrist support strapped in place as viewedin the direction of line 5-5 of FIG. 1.

Turning now to the drawings wherein like reference characters refer tolike and corresponding parts throughout the several views, theadjustable wrist support 10 for bowlers is shown strapped in place inFIG. 1 and is shown in plan view in FIG. 2. The support comprises anelongated strip 11 of flexible material such as soft leather of the likestrapped in place on both the hand H and the forearm F at opposite sidesof the wrist joint of the bowler as shown in FIG. 1. A strap 12extending outwardly of one side of the strip is provided for cooperationwith a conventional buckle 13 extending outwardly of the opposite sideof the strip. Another strap 14 also extends outwardly of this oppositeside of the strip for securing it to the wrist of the bowler as inFIG. 1. Strap 14 is provided with hook elements 15 each having apin 16cooperating with one of the openings 17 on ears 18 of the strap foradjustably securing the buckles along the length of these ears. Each ofthe buckles 15 has a hook 19 for cooperation with an eyelet 21 providedat the respective free ends of cables 22 extending through a cover 39 tobe hereinafter more fully described. A U-shaped lever 23 is pivotallymounted as at 24, 25 to strip 11, and the free ends of each cable 22 arepivotally mounted to the lever outwardly of its pivot points 24, 25 asat 26, 27. Accordingly, strap 14 may simply be wrapped about the wristnear the wrist joint of the bowler as hook elements 19 are hooked ontotheir respective eyelets 21. Buckles 15 are adjusted along the length ofears 18 to effect a slightly loose fit for the wearer so that, whenlever 23 is pivoted outwardly, strap 14 is tightened in place as buckles15 are moved toward strip 11.

The support is cushioned while in place along the top of the hand andwrist by means of a pad 28 of foam plastic material or the like (seeFIGS. 3 to 5) adhesively secured along the inner surface of strip 11.Also, in order to shield the wrist against contact by either buckles 15or eyelets 21 while strap 14 is being secured in place and tightened, acurved shield plate 29 of flexible polyetheylene or the like issandwiched at one end between strip 11 and or the like is sandwiched atone end between strip 11 and pad 28 (see FIGS. 4 and 5).

Strip 11 may be bent transversely at line 4-4 of FIG. 2 and may bemaintained in some desired angle for the bowler by means of the assemblyshown in FIG. 3. An elongated resilient streel plate 31 is secured alongthe length of strip 11 as by rivets 32 and is bent on itself at itsopposite ends to form overlapping ends 33 and 34. Spacers 35 areprovided along the length of the bent plate for maintaining its bentportions at a spaced distance from that portion of the plate secured tostrip 11. Each of the spacers is maintained separated from one anotherby means or straps or clips 36 surrounding each spacer as seen in bothFIGS. 3 and 4. The plate is capable of being easily bent transverselyduring which time overlapping ends 33 and 34 are moved toward and awayfrom one another. In order to maintain some desired degree of bend forthe plate, a clamp 37 is provided in clamping engagement with theoverlapping ends as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The angularity of the plateand consequently of the strip 11 after the plate is bent may bemaintained and locked in place by means of threaded studs 38 whichthreadedly engage with the top portion of clamp 37 and bear down againstthe top of overlapping end 34 so as to clamp both overlapping ends ofthe plate against the lower portion of the clamp piece. Also, it shouldbe noted that a cover 39 of flexible material such as leather or thelike encloses clamp 37 and plate 31 and is secured along its peripheryto strip 11.

In operation, the wrist support as described above is first strapped tothe hand of the bowler by means of strap 12 after which it is looselystrapped to his wrist in the position shown in FIG. 1 as hooks 19 arehooked into eyelets 21. After assessing the condition of the alley, ordepending upon the style used in grasping the bowling ball, the bowlerwill adjust the angularity of strip 11 by either maintaining the back ofthe hand parallel to the wrist, as shown in solid outline in FIG. 1, orby bending the hand inwardly toward the body as shown in phantom in thisFIG. Of course, the hand may also be bent outwardly away from the body(not shown) if desired. Strip 11 is locked into this adjusted positionby simply tightening studs 38 with the use of, for example, an Allenwrench assuming that hexagonal head openings are provided for each stud.Just prior to grasping the ball for delivering it toward the pins, thebowler simply moves lever 23 in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG.to thereby tighten stap 14 about his wrist. The angularity between theback of his hand and his wrist, as for example l80shown in solid outlineand approximately 45 shown in phantom in FIG. 1, is locked in place.While awaiting his next turn, the bowler may loosen strap 14 by movinglever 23 in the direction opposite the arrow of FIG. 5. The wristsupport therefore remains strapped in place in a loose condition whilethe bowler is awaiting his turn, and the support may be simply andeffectively tightened and its angularity adjusted at any time suitableto the bowlers style or condition of the alley.

Obviously, many modifications and variations of the invention arepossible in the light of the above teachings. It is therefore to beunderstood that within the scope of the appended claims, the inventionmay be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

What is claimed is:

l. A strap device for supporting the bowlers wrist in a desired angle,comprising an elongated strip of flexible material, a first strap forsecuring said strip to the bowlers hand, a second strap connected at oneend to said strip for securing said strip to the bowlers wrist, levermeans on said strip in engagement with the free end of said second strapfor tightening said second strap in place, an elongated flexible platehaving overlapping ends and capable of bending about its transverse axisbeing secured along the length of said strip, and a clamp for clampingsaid overlapping ends together for locking same in a transversely bentposition.

2. The device according to claim 1 wherein said lever means comprises alever mounted for pivotal movement inwardly and outwardly of said strip,at least one strand interconnecting said free end of said second strapwith a portion of said lever spaced from its pivotal mounting, so thatmovement of said lever outwardly of said strip serves to tighten saidsecond strap about the bowlers wrist as said free end is moved towardsaid lever.

3. The device according to claim 2 wherein at least one ear elementextends outwardly of said second strap free end, one of a hook and aneye element respectively being located on said ear element and on saidstrand.

plate in place.

1. A strap device for supporting the bowler''s wrist in a desired angle,comprising an elongated strip of flexible material, a first strap forsecuring said strip to the bowler''s hand, a second strap connected atone end to said strip for securing said strip to the bowler''s wrist,lever means on said strip in engagement with the free end of said secondstrap for tightening said second strap in place, an elongated flexibleplate having overlapping ends and capable of bending about itstransverse axis being secured along the length of said strip, and aclamp for clamping said overlapping ends together for locking same in atransversely bent position.
 2. The device according to claim 1 whereinsaid lever means comprises a lever mounted for pivotal movement inwardlyand outwardly of said strip, at least one strand interconnecting saidfree end of said second strap with a portion of said lever spaced fromits pivotal mounting, so that movement of said lever outwardly of saidstrip serves to tighten said second strap about the bowler''s wrist assaid free end is moved toward said lever.
 3. The device according toclaim 2 wherein at least one ear element extends outwardly of saidsecond strap free end, one of a hook and an eye element respectivelybeing located on said ear element and on said strand.
 4. The deviceaccording to claim 1 wherein said clamp includes a clamp surroundingsaid overlapping ends, and means provided for tightening said clampPlate in place.